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LEAGUE REVIEW

Midweek Action: With teams in catch-up mode following the vast number of recent
postponements, there was a busy midweek period, where away sides went unbeaten in the
seven completed fixtures. Starting on Tuesday, both Premier Division contests ended level, with
leaders Helston letting a two-goal lead slip in their 2-2 draw at Bridgwater. With a big crowd
in attendance for the top-four clash, the visitors made a dream start, going ahead inside the
opening minute through Aaron Bentley. It then became 2-0 to Helston after 27 minutes when
Bentley struck again, but Bridgwater grabbed a lifeline on the stroke of half-time, with an own
goal halving the deficit. The score then remained the same for the majority of the second half,
but with five minutes left on the clock, Bridgwater’s Dave Thorne managed to find the back of
the net to secure a late point. The other game that night finished goalless,
with Saltash holding Barnstaple to a rare blank at the Kimberley Stadium. 24 hours later, Ryan
Richards made it six goals in two games, bouncing back from an early penalty miss to
fire Torpoint to a 3-0 win away at Oldland Abbotonians. Having starred in his sides’ late
victory on Saturday, Richards looked to pick up where he left off on Wednesday, only to miss the
target with a third minute spot kick which he had earned after being fouled in the box.
Fortunately for the visitors, Richards managed to make amends, slotting home four minutes into
the second half to break the deadlock at the Aitchison Playing Field. The game remained tight
for much of the night, but with both sides reduced to ten men, Torpoint ended the game strongly,
with James Rowe and Richards scoring in the final minutes to secure the three-goal victory.
Elsewhere that evening, the match between Street and Wellington was abandoned during the
first half following a bad injury to visiting forward Ryan Brereton.
In the First Division, there was a clean sweep of away wins, with Middlezoy overturning a
half-time deficit to topple AEK Boco 2-1 to complete the set on Wednesday night. 24 hours
earlier, Wincanton won a seven-goal thriller away at Gillingham to take local bragging rights.
With the sides meeting again on Good Friday, the Gills will get a shot at revenge, but this loss
will have hit them hard after clawing their way back from three goals down. For Wincanton,
everything looked rosy when they led 2-0 at the interval courtesy of goals from Gary Chapman
and Jamie Thompson. A further goal at the beginning of the second half from Connor Williams
stretched the lead out further, before the home side got back into the contest thanks to a
quickfire brace from Harrison Foster. The comeback was then complete 15 minutes from time,
but that left the title chasers a chance to push for a fourth goal, and a thunderbolt in added time
from Wincanton’s Jamie Jordan brought the curtain down on a terrific night of action in North
Dorset. Tuesday also saw Chris Pile’s second half strike edge Wells City past Bristol
Telephones, while Longwell Green Sports romped to victory at Bishop Sutton, where six
different goalscorers helped the Green run out 6-2 winners.

Premier Division: Helston have opened up a five point lead atop the division following their
come-from-behind 2-1 win at Welton Rovers. After dropping a couple of points in midweek,
the league leaders were struggling in the early stages at West Clewes, falling behind to a 16 th
minute effort from Joe Cattermole. It took the away side half an hour to get their first shot on
target, but they certainly made it count, with Jordan Copp finding the back of the net to make it
one apiece. Copp was then on hand to fire home the winner, scoring from the spot midway
through the second half after Rikki Sheppard had been fouled in the area. Falmouth maintained
their push for a top spot, beating Nailsea & Tickenham 1-0 to register their seventh
consecutive home victory. A Jared Sims strike was all it took for Town to take home all
three points, with the victors now facing a run of five away games in 15 days.
Bridgwater got back to winning ways at Shepton Mallet, with a 2-0 victory helping
to establish them in the top four. A couple of usual suspects did the damage for the
away side, with leading scorer Jack Thorne breaking the deadlock, which was followed